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Payments for Ecosystem Services

Natural assets such as rivers, forests, grasslands and wetlands benefit society through the ecosystem services they provide, including water purification, air quality improvements, and flood protection, among other benefits. However, these services are frequently left out of resource management decisions because they aren’t easily quantified or assigned a monetary value. As a result, society undervalues these environmental benefits, contributing to the loss of natural systems. Environmental markets can provide incentives to preserve ecosystems and the services they provide.